The coworker I’ve been working most with at the registers is named Jillian. She’s fresh off the plane from Ireland. I asked her once if she likes James Joyce and she told me that she doesn’t. Her favorite author is J.D. Salinger. Her favorite book is Franny and Zoey. In that book, the character Zoey is an actor. Jillian wants to be an actor (Go figure).

Jillian and I really started connecting once she alerted me to the approaching retrograde. There she was, standing like a sacrifice, tied to the forward mast, greeting, with her back against the classics column, absorbing the waves, one upon another, in their consistently rapid fashion, as they came crashing against the hull, a first line of defense, the first thing the customer sees when they walk in, her and her smiling face all helloing, and welcoming aboard.

It’s really amazing how many people can have the same idea at the same time.

“Let’s go to a bookstore.” say what feels like a million people at once.